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This article investigates the internationalization process in higher education at the institutional level. Drawing on an original perspective informed by organizational theory, we propose two theoretical dimensions of universities’ internationalization: international reputation and local legitimacy. Building upon the categorization proposed by Knight (Journal of Studies in International Education 8(1):5–31, 2004), we argue that international reputation and local legitimacy permeate rationales for international institutional development with respect to the different status of a university. Specifically, non-ranked universities do not exploit internationalization benefits to acquire an international reputation, as ranked universities do; rather, they do so primarily to gain legitimacy in the local context. These institutions suffer from higher information asymmetries in disclosing the value of their educational services, and try to provide a signal to students and their families and help them perceive their quality. We make use of explorative case studies referring to two Italian universities highlighting the different reasons universities have to pursue an internationalization strategy. We conclude that universities of different ranking pursue internationalization for dissimilar purposes, either to distinguish at a global level and to secure a place on the national map.

This chapter highlights the need for a change in perspective in the approach to cultural heritage management towards the adoption of a systems view of governance. Given the current unsatisfactory performance in the management of Italy’s rich cultural heritage, we suggest that a dominant traditional view focused on conservation and protection should be integrated with more effective action through enhancement. The key elements of a model of cultural heritage system governance are illustrated from the perspective of the viable systems approach.

Balanced graph partitioning is a fundamental problem that is receiving growing attention with the emergence of distributed graph-computing (DGC) frameworks. In these frameworks, the partitioning strategy plays an important role since it drives the communication cost and the workload balance among computing nodes, thereby affecting system performance. However, existing solutions only partially exploit a key characteristic of natural graphs commonly found in the real-world: their highly skewed power-law degree distributions. In this paper, we propose High-Degree (are) Replicated First (HDRF), a novel streaming vertex-cut graph partitioning algorithm that effectively exploits skewed degree distributions by explicitly taking into account vertex degree in the placement decision. We analytically and experimentally evaluate HDRF on both synthetic and real-world graphs and show that it outperforms all existing algorithms in partitioning quality.

This paper investigates the impact of firm RD policies sustaining RD investment and collaboration on company innovation performance. Individual and cooperative RD investments are considered as intermediate outcomes (inputù and behavioralù additionality, respectively) contributing to the final outcome (presence of product innovation). We use a treatment random coefficient model to estimate the policy additionality on a panel dataset merging the third and the fourth wave of the Italian Community Innovation Survey (CIS). Results show a significant and positive policy impact on company propensity to product innovation only for the input additionality and for the interaction between the input and the cooperative additionality. This occurs when company cooperation scores overcome a certain threshold, in accordance with the theory which states that cooperation outcomes tend to increase when higher spillovers are .pursued by the firms.

We decompose broad based measures of accruals into firm specific and related firm components. We find that the negative relation between accruals and future firm performance is almost entirely attributable to the firm specific component. Standard risk based explanations are hard to reconcile with this fact. To the extent expected returns have a common component spanning related firms, a risk based explanation would suggest a stronger negative relation between accruals and future firm performance when related firms are also growing. Instead, the attenuation we document is more likely attributable to sub-optimal investment decisions, which the stock market and analysts do not incorporate in a timely manner.

Community detection methods for the analysis of complex networks are increasingly important in modern literature. At the same time it is still an open problem. The approach proposed in this work is to adopt an ensemble procedure for obtaining a consensus matrix from which to perform a nonmetric MDS approach and then a clustering algorithm which allows to get a consensus partition of the nodes. The simulation study offers some interesting insights on the procedure because it shows that it is possible to understand the key nodes and the stable communities by considering different algorithms. The proposed approach is still applied to real data related to a network of patents.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a global theme. However, social, cultural, and natural characteristics of each nation should influence the application of CSR. This chapter describes CSR practices in five countries: Brazil, Japan, India, Italy, and Romania. The method applied is a descriptive case study, and a qualitative analysis is made. Cross-cultural comparison studies may help one better understand how CSR practices emerge in each country in a globalized economy.

The problem of optimally locating sensors on a traffic network has been object of growing interest in the past few years. Sensor location decisions models differ from each other according to the type of sensors that are to be located and the objective that one would like to optimize. In this paper, we survey the main existing contributions in the literature related to the optimal location strategies of Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) readers on the links of a network to get travel time information.

We study the investment patterns of different types of venture capital (VC) investors in Europe: independent VC, corporate VC, bank-affiliated VC and governmental VC. We rely on a unique dataset that covers 1663 first VC investments made by 846 investors in 737 young high-tech entrepreneurial ventures in seven European countries. We compare the relative specialization indices of the different VC investor types across several dimensions that characterize investee companies: industry, age, size, stage of development, distance from the investor and country. Our findings indicate that VC investor types in Europe differ substantially in their investment patterns when compared to one another and that, in terms of investment patterns, governmental VC investors appear to be the most distinct type of VC investor. The investment patterns of different VC investors are stable over time and similar across different European countries. Finally, the investment patterns of the different VC investor types in Europe are significantly different from those observed in the USA.

none 3 No abstract available mixed Gren, Jakub; Howarth, David; Quaglia, Lucia Gren, Jakub; Howarth, David; Quaglia, Lucia

This paper focuses on the positive relationship between trust and performance in the supply chain and investigates whether and how the interdependence structure of the supply chain moderates this relationship. Interdependence occurs in supply chains because supply chain partners depend upon one another for product and process accomplishments and for the tangible and intangible resources owned by their partners. Framing the supply chain as a complex adaptive system, we argue that, in supply chain contexts, both the degree of interdependence (i.e., the average number of interactions among the supply chain firms) and the overall interdependence pattern (which maps with who each supply chain firm interacts) moderate the relationship between trust and supply chain performance. The proposed conceptual framework is operationalized through the NK fitness landscape model and tested using simulation and Tobit regression analyses. Results confirm that the specific interdependence pattern that characterizes the supply chain has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between trust and supply chain performance, while the moderating effect exerted by the degree of interdependence is not statistically significant.

Recent years have seen remarkable changes in the nature of trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) flows. A keyword that is often used to summarize the multi-facet aspects of this transformation is ‘‘offshoring’’ which can be broadly defined as firms’ allocation of economic activities to another country, either by obtaining goods and services from unaffiliated foreign companies, or by investing in the creation of joint ventures or foreign affiliates (the latter being identified as ‘‘captive offshoring’’). Indeed, offshoring has stretched national boundaries and broadened firms’ perspective, making business an international issue. As a result, the international involvement of firms has increased over time, and multinational enterprises have become key players in this globalized modern scenario. The

This study examines the relationship between bundles of lean practices and cumulative performance, as described by the sand cone model. Based on the literature, hypotheses relating lean bundles to cumulative performance are proposed. They are tested using a sample of 317 plants in three industries and ten countries, based on structural equation modeling. The results indicate a set of direct and indirect relationships that illustrate: (1) the importance of organizational fitness at the base of the sand cone of practices, (2) the cumulative relationship of competitive performance, supporting the sand cone model, and (3) the cumulative relationship between lean bundles and the sand cone sequence of cumulative performance. Testing alternative models of cumulative performance lends further support to these results. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for managers seeking guidance in competing on multiple dimensions of competitive performance simultaneously, particularly in terms of establishing a foundation of organizational fitness for the cumulative implementation of lean bundles. It contributes to the literature on manufacturing strategy and lean by providing additional support for the sand cone of cumulative performance, expanding research on the sand cone of practices that support cumulative performance, describing the role that external resources like suppliers can play in mastering lean cumulatively and separating previous research on lean bundles into those related to fitness and those with a more specific goal orientation, building on the strong foundation provided by the extended resource based view and the concept of absorptive capacity.

It is well known that since the fall of 2008, the world has entered into the deepest recession since the 1930s. The origin of this recession was a financial crisis that began in the USA in the summer of 2007, and which spread rapidly in Europe and across the rest of the world. The main cause was to be found in the collapse of the financial market as a result of colossal debts that were accumulated by major European and US banks, and the consequent institutionalised fraud and financial manipulation. In fact, the “bank bailouts” were implemented on the instruction and support of governments and the political class, which took place through the transfer by lending of the largest amount of money in recorded history, and at the same time created an insurmountable public debt (e.g. Chossudovsky and Marshall, 2010; Gallino, 2013).

This work proposes a non-conventional easy-applicable configuration for unit load (UL) warehouses, with the aim of improving the handling performance in terms of the travelled distance. The impact of the adoption of one or more straight diagonal cross-aisles within a traditional warehouse is investigated under single command operations. The closed-form of the mean travel time with random storage assignment of the ULs is provided and the design parameters of such a warehouse are evaluated. In the optimal configuration, the travelled distance savings range from 7% to 17%. The loss of storage area related to the presence of the diagonal cross-aisles is, also, evaluated, leading to define the profitability regions, best balance between the distance saving and the storage area loss, driving the choice of the most effective number of diagonal cross-aisles to include within the storage system. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.

This article extends previous theory on the management of strategic multipartner SME networks by investigating how different actors manage the development process of such networks and how different management approaches in terms of actors' roles and their involvement affect network performance. Results emerging from a qualitative analysis based on four case studies in different industries (i.e. machinery for the Ho.Re.Ca., automotive, shoe and construction) show that there is a single network manager who takes on the management of multipartner network, being either internal (e.g., entrepreneur) or external (e.g., representative of a third party) to the network. A heavyweight network manager, characterized by a high level of involvement in the organizational and managerial activities, is fundamental for goal achievement, while an internal network manager contributes to partners' willingness to continue with the network. Building upon the limited literature on the management of strategic multipartner SME networks, this article introduces the concepts of heavyweight vs. lightweight and internal vs. external network manager and their association with goal achievement and partners' willingness of continuation. The paper provides a series of practical guidelines for managers. In particular, SME entrepreneurs and managers may profit from specific indications regarding how different activities need to be managed throughout the development process of strategic multipartner networks, as well as how their role in this process may influence network performance.

The objective of this chapter is to introduce flexible reverse mortgage contracts and to consider them in a multiple decrement model. Here, the multiple decrement approach is applied for the first time in housing and urban planning as a new tool for better forecasting of the housing market and housing needs of senior citizens with decreasing functional capacities and therefore changing housing needs on their lifetime horizon. The presented approach enables development of appropriate, more flexible equity release schemes (ERS) than the products known up to now. In the flexible reverse mortgage model developed here we assume that the homeowner can always sell her/his residential property and buy the new residential property for the amount which is of the same value as that of the first house, or lower. It enables better management of cash flows related to the portfolio of residential properties in the context of ERS—the reverse mortgage approach. The schemes are designed to allow elderly homeowners to convert the equity in their homes to income and to keep the possibility to sell their property and move to a more appropriate dwelling under the same contract, which was not the case up to now. Namely, in these newly presented ERS products, homeowners can also keep the mathematical reserves for longevity insurance, based on the initial contract, when they move and sell the initial residential property and buy a new one. They also keep their deferred lifetime annuities if they finally sell the residential property and move to long-term care in a retirement home. In this new approach, the reverse mortgage schemes/longevity insurance are not tied to the single property as it is the case in the existing reverse mortgage products, but rather to the life of the senior homeowner. In the numerical examples, different cash flows associated with different paths of a graph are presented demonstrating the advantages of the flexible reverse mortgage. We show that not only the transaction costs are lower but also that the set of possible choices is larger. According to population aging in Europe, where in 2060 one-third of the population will be more than 64 years old, it is important also for the local authorities and spatial planners to study elderly people’s housing needs in order to design a housing system suitable also for them, and therefore to adopt the housing stock to the desired housing consumption. The housing needs of senior citizens may be satisfied if the housing stock is specifically designed to meet their physical, emotional, recreational, medical, and social needs. Recognizing that urban space must be adapted to meet these objectives, the paper will examine the issues regarding the sustainable financing of senior citizens and their changing housing needs in particular.

Today’s politicians are confronted with new information technologies to tackle complex decision-making problems. In order to make sustainable decisions, a profound analysis of societal problems and possible solutions (policy options) needs to be performed. In this policy-analysis process, different stakeholders are involved. Besides internal direct advisors of the policy makers (policy analysts), external experts from different scientific disciplines can support evidence-based decision making. Despite the alleged importance of scientific advice in the policy-making process, it is observed that scientific results are often not used. In this work, a concept is described that supports the collaboration between scientists and politicians. We propose a science–policy interface that is realized by including information visualization in the policy-analysis process. Therefore, we identify synergy effects between both fields and introduce a methodology for addressing the current challenges of science–policy interfaces with visualization. Finally, we describe three exemplary case studies carried out in European research projects that instantiate the concept of this approach.

This paper investigates the dynamics of productivity in a large sample of Italian manufacturing firms, focusing on the determinants of firm-level persistence in time of high total factor productivity (TFP) growth rates relative to the corresponding sectoral distributions. In particular, we assess the impact of both the internal characteristics of companies, including size and management strategies, and external systemic conditions, including business cycles and regional innovation performance. In order to disentangle the effects of the mix of internal and systemic factors in shaping firm-level persistence, we implement both transition probability matrices and dynamic probit models. Results reveal the presence of significant persistence in TFP growth rates. Such persistence turns out to be path-dependent since it is shaped by a number of complementary and contingent factors that locally affect the dynamics of the process.

This study addresses calls for closer examination of board dynamics by offering an inside view of director interactions. Video observations of three board meetings at each of two Australian corporations matched with director interviews and secondary data reveal distinct patterns of director interactions, their sources of variation and their impact on perceived board effectiveness. The data reveal that director interactions are multidimensional and dynamic: while group interactions across agenda items are similar, with a few directors leading the discussion, the contributing directors change across items. Moreover, directors??? inclusiveness and evenness of participation are associated with higher perceptions of board effectiveness. Lastly, the study found that director interactions change with the nature of the items, board climate and board meeting arrangements. The study contributes to the literature by moving beyond the individual-level analysis of directors??? skills or independence, and offering a detailed view of how the joint group and individual dimensions of board dynamics affect board functioning.

After the 2008 global financial crisis, many governments introduced spending reviews (SRs). The paper provides a valuable definition of the concept of the SR by proposing a taxonomy of the main organizational and methodological aspects involved in the SR process. The paper identifies two different SR models, which feature alternative approaches to cutting back spending. The authors highlight some important considerations when looking to make sustainable and sensible cuts in spending.

The main task of this work is to develope a model able to encompass, at the same time, Keynesian, demand-driven, and Marxian, profit-driven determinants of fluctuations. Our starting point is the Goodwin's model (1967), rephrased in discrete time and extended by means of a coupled dynamics structure. The model entails the combined interaction of a demand effect, which resembles a rudimentary first approximation to an accelerator, and of a hysteresis effect in wage formation in turn affecting investments. Our model yields ``business cycle movements either by means of persistent harmonic oscillations, or chaotic motions. These two different dynamical paths accounting for the behaviour of the system are influenced by its (predominantly) profit-led or wage-led structures.

CSR is a driver unanimously recognized by companies. This is more important looking to the Horizon 2020 objectives, in which CSR will play an important role. However, at present, there are a lot of theories and regulations about CSR, which are controversial, complex, and unclear. In this confusing landscape, a critical element emerged: the importance of social enterprise as key. The authors, after a brief summary about the main CSR theories and the principal normative aspects to frame the issue, focus their attention on new sustainable models, with particular referring to the social enterprise. The authors base their starting idea on national CSR approach and support their hypothesis of CSR by bringing examples from various countries (United States, Switzerland, Germany) and from important companies. In their conclusion, the authors clarify their idea about the correct CSR approach, introducing the concept of the Gross National Happiness (GNH).

Following Schumacher’s (1973) concept of the primary economy (nature) feeding the secondary economy (agricultural and industrial production), we suggest that there now exists a tertiary economy (the financial system of trade, banking, insurance, and stocks). We demonstrate using the economies of the USA and India that the increase in wealth suggested by a growing gross domestic product (constant GDP) is actually only an illusion of more wealth if the biophysical basis for the economy does not increase in like manner. Overall, the economies of the USA and India (measured in constant GDP dollars) grew by nearly 6000 and 2500 % between 1950 and 2010, while their tertiary economies grew by over 11,000 and 4300 %, respectively. During the same period, the secondary economy of each country grew by about 2800 % (USA) and 35,000 % (India). The tertiary economy’s share of US GDP increased by 85 %, and that of India’s by 72 % between 1950 and 2010, while the secondary economy’s share in both countries decreased (USA = 52 % and India = 77 %). The emergy throughput (a measure of wealth strictly linked to biophysical resources) of the economies of India and the USA between 1950 and 2010 rose to about 370 and 290 %, respectively; on average about one-tenth the growth rate of the monetary economy. Trade between nations is evaluated to emphasize the impact developed economies have on the developing nations of the world. The buying power of developed economies as measured by their emergy money ratio (Emergy/GDP) is used to show the extent to which they enjoy a trade advantage with developing economies even when monetary flows are balanced. Trade between developed and developing nations, especially if developing nations are exporting natural resources, is highly advantageous to the developed world.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a system for the performance evaluation of humanitarian supply chains. The system will help humanitarian organizations (HOs) to make better decisions, improve their performance, and provide accountability, as well as helping them measure their operational performance during disaster response and reconstruction projects. Design/methodology/approach – A holistic and implementable performance measurement system was developed to measure the operational performance of HOs during disaster response and reconstruction projects. The system is divided into five categories with several key performance indicators (KPIs) being identified for each; identifiers are qualitative and quantitative, as well as financial and non-financial. Findings – Empirical testing of the system demonstrated the low use of existing performance indicators in humanitarian supply chains and the possible added value for HOs to improve their operational efficiency. Social implications – The performance measurement system could help HOs improve their operations and resource allocation. Originality/value – The paper is one of the first research contributions in which a sample of developed KPIs is empirically tested in various HOs. Prior to this paper, a limited number of articles examined the performance of HOs, and no defined system of KPIs existed. By analyzing real results in the field of the humanitarian projects and applying the proposed performance measurement system, it will be possible to define a set of best approaches to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian supply chains.

A growing number of firms today have to cope with the twofold challenge of mass customization (i.e., combining high performance in product customization with high performance in cost, delivery and quality) and green management (i.e., integrating environmental-sustainability principles into businesses). Research on this joint challenge, however, is still limited in the literature. To narrow this gap, we empirically investigate the interconnectedness of mass customization and green management on the level of their enabling capabilities. Through a single longitudinal case study in a machinery manufacturing organization that, during the period of observation, succeeded in developing both mass-customization capabilities and green-management capabilities, we find overlaps and path dependences between such capabilities. Pragmatically, these findings indicate synergies that firms pursuing a green mass customization strategy may leverage in order to alleviate the difficulty of implementing that strategy. From an academic standpoint, these findings contribute to the debate on the relationship between the environmental pillar of sustainability and its economic pillar and, at the same time, add both to the body of the literature on mass customization and to the one on green management. Limitations of the present study and the related opportunities for future research are, finally, discussed.

A facility-based firm invests in network quality and sells wholesale local access to two competing downstream firms, which offer vertically differentiated value-added services. We show that, contrary to common wisdom, access price regulation may simultaneously improve consumer welfare and foster investment incentives compared with regulatory forbearance. This result is robust to a number of different model specifications: (i) the bottleneck owner is vertically integrated, and: (a) the regulator can commit before the investment stage, or: (b) there are first-mover advantages, such as consumer switching costs; (ii) the bottleneck owner is vertically separated. We also show that, under access price regulation, consumer welfare and network quality may be higher under vertical separation than under vertical integration.

The main objective of this article is the analysis of tourism activities located in a given territory during their evolution and steady state life.Interventions to make tourism more sustainable are deeply analysed.Specific tools to improve sustainability of tourism are also discussed.Positive effects induced by regulated procedures such as SEA, EIA, EMAS, ISO14001, ECOLABEL, SWOT ANALYSIS are taken into consideration as well. Specific attention is devoted to the implementation of the EU Ecolabel in sustainable hotel management. Some other forms of environmental friendly sustainable tourism are also described. This paper discusses positive results expected from various kinds of sustainable tourism in terms of reduction of resource consumption, pollutants and CO2 emissions, solid waste management, preservation of biodiversity, etc. Much attention is given to indicators able to measure sustainability of tourism in a given territory, such as economic performance (Gross Domestic Product, GDP), quality of social life (Human Development Index, HDI), health conditions (Life Expectancy at birth), energy consumption, air and water quality, etc. More specific indicators directly connected with tourism are also investigated. Among them, one can mention specific indicators such as the amount of green area per person, number of hotels, number of rooms and residences for families, traffic congestion and noise, etc. Specific case studies are devoted to the life of tourism destinations according to the model developed by Butler. In the last part of the study the characterization of the area and the calculation of the specific indicators are described. The methodology is tested and applied to some specific areas with the aim at showing the dynamic nature of the destination life divided among different phases. For the selected destinations, adequate indicators are identified and quantified with the aim of improving the level of sustainability of different conditions.

Production planning of highly customised and complex products is a difficult task and cannot be tackled efficiently by using well-known hierarchical approaches. The main reason is that aggregate production operations correspond to whole production phases, thus requiring planning, scheduling, and procurement activities to be considered at the same decision level. This makes project scheduling approaches particularly suitable for this context. However, the pervasive use of human resources (most operations are executed manually) poses other problems related to the definition of activity durations. In fact, the duration of an activity cannot be a priori defined because it is related to the amount of allotted resources, which in turn depends on the number of products processed at the same time in the shop floor and on the number of workers involved, which can also vary over time. This impacts also on the possibility of correctly modelling the precedence relations between aggregate activities. In this chapter we propose a way to tackle such problems, using a project scheduling approach with a variable intensity formulation and feeding precedence relations and show its application to a real industrial case.

The emergency department of a hospital is, among all areas in which lean policies are focused, the one that has received the most attention. The emergency room, in fact, plays a vital role in providing primary care to patients and is also recognised for the contribution it gives to society. The important results in terms of cost savings and improving the flow due to the reduction of the waiting time of the patients, obtained from major international hospitals, were crucial to assess whether it was possible and useful to implement similar improvements in Italy, certainly not without to many problems in the provision of health services. This paper explores what can be improved for the department to be more efficient, using simulation techniques based on dynamic and continuous logics (system dynamics).

Purpose – This paper aims to consider how and to what extent it is possible to interpret a performance management system (PMS) as a typical control mechanism or in a more innovative way as a learning tool. PMSs are typically used for planning and coordination purposes. However, they may also be used as an opportunity to foster learning inside the organization. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical analysis was carried out during January-May 2014. A single case study was developed, in the first phase, through document analysis and semi-structured interviews with three top managers, to investigate the purpose and rationale of the design of the PMS. The investigation then continued with non-participant observation. Findings – The picture shows the dominance of “command and control” thinking, based on a cybernetic control system connected to targets and linking the achievement of these targets to individual performance. Practical implications – This paper helps to contextualize reflections on PMSs and potential learning outcomes in knowledge organizations, with specific reference to the airport industry. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the extant debate on the relationship between PMSs and learning. Traditionally, the literature has focused only on particular aspects of PMSs. Other authors, relying on a contingent approach, have instead put forward the need of a more comprehensive and integrated frameworks encompassing organic conception of PMSs, as well as of the interdependencies among their components. In the case study under scrutiny in this paper, adaptive or single-loop learning is taking place, in which adaptive changes occur but do not lead to any major changes.

Purpose-The first aim of the chapter is to offer a characterization of back-reshoring as a possible step of the firm's nonlinear internationalization process. The second aim is to review the empirical literature on back-reshoring and to complement it with the findings of an extensive data collection. Methodology/approach-In this chapter we adopted an explorative approach building on both theoretical and empirical literature from the fields of international business and international operations Management. We also collected secondary data on back-reshoring decisions in order to define the magnitude of the investigated phenomenon and to offer a primary characterization. Findings-Our findings confirm that, though it cannot be considered a generalized trend, back-reshoring is a very topical issue for international business scholars. It represents an autonomous phenomenon consistent with the idea of nonlinear internationalization process. Research limitations/implications-The chapter is based on crosssectional data. Longitudinal research is required in order to address the proposed research questions and help understanding "how much" and what kind of manufacturing will be housed in western countries in the near future. Originality/value-This is the first attempt to conceptualize backreshoring as a possible step of the firms' internationalization process. It is also the first chapter that summarizes and discusses the literature and empirical evidence on back-reshoring emerging from a wide range of countries.

This paper contributes to an understanding of the importance of locally based resources and interactions in a globalised industry, fashion design. It examines the product design stage of the fashion production chain, rather than the manufacture and commercialisation of apparel products. We studied the use of their geographies by UK-based fashion designers working in micro-sized enterprises ( < 10 employees) especially because of their likely sensitivity to various aspects of proximity, including their dependence on external resources to supplement their own. Factor and cluster analysis identified four different types of designers, which differed in the manner in which they interacted with peers and markets, and accessed location-based resources. The paper advances explanations for the patterns of behaviour observed in the various clusters, and in making recommendations for further research predicts the types of design position each is likely to prefer.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology to assess the experiential learning processes of learning lean in an innovative learning environment: the lean model factories. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review on learning and lean management literatures was carried out to design the methodology. Then, a case study methodology was used to test the framework. Findings – The methodology permitted to asses learning processes and course contents of educational dynamics carried out in model factories and to theoretically ground such learning processes. The test showed that learning lean management is supported through a complete coverage of the eight phases of the learning path. Research limitations/implications – The methodology contributes to the literatures of lean management and experiential learning, proposing a methodology of assessment. Part of the framework could also be applied to other disciplines. Practical implications – The methodology could be used for two purposes: to design training courses or to assess existing experiential learning courses. Originality/value – Due to its intrinsic complexity, learning literature presents few practical framework or tools. Among them, none have provided practical and theoretical-based advice on how to use experiential learning precepts to teach lean management.

This paper considers the problem of inducing low-risk individuals of all ages to buy private health insurance in Australia. Our proposed subsidy scheme improves upon the age-based penalty scheme under the current Australian Lifetime Cover (LTC) scheme. We generate an alternative subsidy profile that obviates adverse selection in private health insurance markets with mandated, age-based, community rating. Our proposal is novel in that we generate subsidies that are both risk- and age-specific, based upon actual risk probabilities. The approach we take may prove useful in other jurisdictions where the extant law mandates community rating in private health insurance markets. Furthermore, our approach is useful in jurisdictions that seek to maintain private insurance to complement existing universal public systems. © 2006 The International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics.

The This paper provides new empirical evidence on the effects of deregulation in financial services markets by analysing the Italian Automobile Insurance Industry. It gives a contribution to the debate, at governmental and European level, on market liberalization, by using a large and detailed database on the whole Italian insurance sector over the period 1982-2000. The data available span the introduction of the European Union’s Third Generation Directives aimed at deregulating the EU insurance market and offer the opportunity to test several effects of government measures on market structure and efficiency along with their dynamics over time. Until 1994 the Italian insurance market had been highly regulated. Since 1994, insurance firms operating in the motor vehicle business have been free to calculate their tariffs and to formulate their contracts. We analyse the period 1982-2000 and we provide evidence on the dynamics of Italian insurers, the rate of growth of insurance activity and the efficiency of a sample of Italian insurers active in the auto liability line.

Although it is well known that product design affects supply chain management, much less has been written about whether and how product design affects supply chain risk management. This research gap brought us to study the following research questions: which new product development (NPD) practices can mitigate supply chain risk? And how? Based on seven exploratory case studies, we found that four categories of NPD practices, as well as product modularity, are effective supply chain risk mitigation levers. Moreover, we found that the conjoint adoption of NPD practices and product features (i.e. 'bundles') has a synergistic effect on supply chain risk mitigation.

The Campania region boasts one of the largest and most priceless cultural heritages in the world: five sites in this region have already been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and many other sites considered “minor” are not adequately promoted in spite of the fact they are of high artistic value. The project “Cultural Heritage Information System,” (referred to from now on as “CHIS”), aims to investigate the possibility of developing a technological infrastructure that can support activities related to the specific context of Cultural Heritage, and the various user involved. CHIS represents the technological leverage with which it will be possible to develop value-added services which can enhance the business environment by means of personalized services. In this paper the authors will describe the proposed framework and its main characteristics.

For the first time, data on individual European higher education institutions (rather than data aggregated at the country level) is used in order to examine a wide range of issues that are both theoretically challenging and relevant from policy-making and societal perspectives. The contributors integrate statistics on universities and colleges with other sources of information such as patents, start-up firms and bibliometric data, and employ rigorous empirical methods to address a range of key questions, including: what is the role of non-university tertiary education, such as vocational training? How important is the private sector? Are European universities internationalized? Are they efficient from the point of view of costs and educational output? Are there pure research universities in Europe? How do universities contribute to economic growth?